Tonight – The Saskatoon Blades return to home ice for round #4 with the Swift Current Broncos this season. Swift leads the season series 2-1, but the Blades took the last meeting on Oct. 27th in Swift Current… a game that has been a turning point for Saskatoon winning 4/5 since then. Cam Hebig scored his first career hat-trick in that game, and Ryan Kubic earned his first of three consecutive 1st start honours this season.

The opponent – After starting the season with 8 straight wins, the Broncos have 3 wins in their last 6 outings. Still, they remain the #2 ranked team in the entire CHL. Swift is coming off a 4-2 win last Saturday over the Red Deer Rebels… former Blade Logan Flodell made 22 saves in the win while Saskatoon native Kaden Elder scored the game winner.

For Saskatoon – Discipline. The Blades come in with the 21st ranked penalty kill in the WHL against the #2 ranked power play. It’s no secret how dangerous the top line of the Broncos is, and they will be plenty to handle at even strength so limiting their chances on the power play is key to success for Saskatoon. Second, Saskatoon needs to make life difficult for Logan Flodell. They know his tendencies, his weaknesses, and his strengths… don’t let him steal the show. And lastly, the Blades power play needs to keep up their recent success. In the last 5 games Saskatoon has gone 6/16 on the man advantage (37.5%).

The Lineup – The Blades are still without two centres in Kirby Dach (U17’s) and Logan Christensen (IR) so 16-year-old forward Logan Doust remains with the club after being called up last week and playing in all 3 games on the Blades most recent road trip. Alec Zawatsky made his WHL debut a week ago today, and has 1 assist in 2 games played. He will be making his home-ice debut tonight at SaskTel Centre. With 16 forwards on the roster and only 2 on the injured list, the coaching staff will have a decision to make in who will be sitting this one out. Brad Goethals returns after missing the last 2 games due to injury, Brandon Machado practiced yesterday after missing some time with the flu.

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